Coronation Chicken Salad

 Coronation chicken salad is an easy, pantry-friendly dish, loosely based on a posh, classically French chicken recipe that was created to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation in 1953. This is the recipe you’d find during its heyday in Britain in the 1980s: a curried chicken salad loaded with dried fruit, mango chutney and sliced almonds, usually served as a sandwich filling or on top of baked potatoes. Debates rage over whether to include diced apricots or golden raisins (also called sultanas), but since each works well with the other flavors, you can use whichever you like. If you want a more intensely golden color, stir in 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric with the curry. And if you’re starting with leftover cooked chicken or a rotisserie chicken (you’ll need 6 cups), just skip Step 1."

Total Time: 1 1/2 hours

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

For the Chicken:

3 1/2 to 4 pounds bone-in chicken parts (all breasts or a combination of parts)

1 tablespoon fine sea or table salt, plus more to taste

1 teaspoon black peppercorns

1 bay leaf

1 onion

1 cinnamon stick

For the Salad:

1/2 cup mayonnaise, preferably homemade, plus more as needed

1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt, sour cream or crème fraîche

3 tablespoons mango chutney (any large mango pieces chopped smaller), plus more to taste

1 tablespoon curry paste or powder (such as Madras), plus more to taste

1/3 cup diced dried apricots or golden raisins

3 tablespoons fresh lemon or lime juice, more to taste

1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted

1/4 cup chopped cilantro, leaves and tender stems, or scallions

Fine sea or table salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions

Prepare the chicken: In a large saucepan or soup pot, combine the chicken, salt, peppercorns, bay leaf, onion and cinnamon stick. Add enough water to cover everything by 1 inch, and bring to a simmer over medium-low heat. Let simmer until the chicken is cooked through, about 45 minutes to 1 hour. Let chicken cool in the broth.

Transfer cooled chicken to a cutting board, reserving the broth for another use. Pull the meat off the bones, discarding skin, and shred or dice the meat into bite-size pieces.

Assemble the salad: In a large bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, yogurt, chutney, curry paste or powder, dried apricots or raisins, and lemon or lime juice, mixing well. Fold in the chicken, almonds, cilantro or scallion, and a little more mayonnaise if the mixture seems dry.

Taste and add more curry paste or powder. (You may end up doubling the amount; the flavors of curry pastes and powders vary widely.) Add more chutney, lemon or lime juice, salt and pepper as needed. For the best flavor, let the mixture rest for at least 30 minutes before serving. It will keep for up to three days in the fridge.